Puella
by Nyades Road Ghost
Summary: Spike gets a little suprise while on his way home...Buffy feels bad in this installment. *Chapter 8 up* Please read and review!
1. Default Chapter

STATUS: If I get some good reviews, I may continue it.   
RATING: G

SUMMARY: A lame story I wrote after viewing _Big Daddy. _Spike finds a little surprise while on his way home.  
DISCLAIMER: Like Joss or Fox is ever gonna see this… They aren't mine, I'm just messing with them. 

SPOILERS: This is one of those 'Spike has a soul, this is what happens', so everything up through Season 6.  

REVIEWS: Please! I'm very new at this! Help me out! 

_Puella  
  
_

        Spike's coat fluttered soundlessly behind him as he walked down Revello Drive. After weeks, he'd finally mustered up enough strength and courage to make this trip to see his love. He wasn't going to talk to her…not yet. He was just going to watch her and his Nibblet go about their nightly routines. He reached the front lawn and paused. His hands, buried inside his duster pockets, became fists as he replayed his violent outburst in his head for the hundredth time. It had been almost a year, but the pain and guilt was still fresh. He shook his head and continued to walk to a large tree. He climbed it and settled himself on the lowest branch. A smile crossed his face and his red, tired eyes sparkled as he watched them. He listened in on them.  
            "Dawn, you are too young to date!"

            "But Buffy, I'm sixteen! I can handle it!"

            "But-"

            "If you don't, you know I'll just sneak out anyway." Dawn squared her shoulders and crossed her arms. Buffy rolled her eyes.

            "Fine." she sighed.

            "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" She enveloped her in a hug, then fled up the stairs, brown hair flying. Spike smiled again. The only time he had seen either of them lately was when he snuck in to get his coat back from Buffy's closet. And that was weeks ago.

            **Uh oh! She saw me!** He thought frantically as she looked out the living room window at his tree. He flattened himself against the tree, trying to make himself less visible. She walked over to the couch and sat down. He sighed.** Better being going anyways…** He told himself. He jumped down and began making his painful journey home. He reached the rusted gate and opened it with a loud creak. He was ripped out of his thoughts when he noticed a hint of light on the horizon. Sunrise would be soon. He began walking faster. He was just about to open the door to his crypt when he heard a small whimper. He paused, and heard it again. He sighed, stared up at the sky then released the door handle and headed towards the sound. It seemed to be coming from behind a headstone that read 'Barker'. There was a little girl there, crying softly. Her brown head was resting on her arms. He could tell she was no more than seven.

            "Hey luv. You ok?" he asked, cocking his head to one side. She looked up at him slowly. Her bright eyes were wet with tears and wide with fear. She had an adorable turned up nose and thin lips that trembled as she wept.

            "Don't…don't hurt me," She pleaded. Spike took in her bare feet, butterfly embroidered jeans, and pink t-shirt, and felt a twang in his heart.

            "Don't worry. I promise I won't. Now," he said, leaning down to her face, "where do you live?" She blinked a couple of times, trying to take in his form in the fading darkness.

            "O-on St. Clair Avenue. I-in Texas." 

            Spike's eyebrows shot up. "Texas?" The little girl nodded. "How'd you get to California?" He looked around. "Where are your parents?"

            "I-," Her chin trembled and large tears began to fall down her face. "I don't know."

            "Ah…hush now, don't cry." He smiled, then glanced at the horizon. Just about a minute left before he would burst into flames. "Tell ya what…how's about we go to my house? It's very near. I've got a bed with your name on it." He held his hand out for her to take. She stared at it, then back at his face.

            "Ok." She said. She stood up slowly and took his hand. Her big eyes never left his face. They walked the few feet to his viney crypt and stepped inside. 

            "Uh oh…forgot about the floor." He whisked her off her feet and walked over the hundreds of shards of glass from alcohol bottles he drowned his sorrows in and threw at the wall when he was angry. His big black boots crunched over them.

            "You smell funny." The little girl said and she scrunched up her nose. Spike smiled and sat her on her feet beside the bed – one of the few glassless places on the floor. He pulled the sheets back and she jumped up. He tucked the sheets in around her neck.

            "You know, you really shouldn't talk to strangers."

            "I know, but you looked nice." She smiled. "What's your name?" she asked in the cutest voice he'd ever heard.

            "Spike." She giggled. "Oh, so you think my name is funny, do ya?" he said in mock anger. He began tickling her and she wiggled and laughed. He finally stopped and pulled a chair up next to the bed. "How about you? Do you have a name?"

            "Uh huh. It's Amelia Van Buren." She said proudly.

            "Amelia, huh? That's very pretty. How old are you?"

            "I'm gonna be six in January. How old are _you_?"

            "Let's just say I'm…very old. I'll clean up a bit while you sleep, k?" Amelia nodded and closed her eyes. Spike smiled again and shook his head. **Maybe this soul thing makes me look more trustworthy or something…a while back she probably would've started screaming and running away. **He thought. 

            He took off his coat but kept his boots on. No way his beautiful white feet were gonna get shredded. He found a broom in the corner and began sweeping all of the glass out the door. **Maybe the 'hey, look at me, you can trust me!' look will work on Buffy…**


	2. Chapter Two

            Spike opened his eyes and saw a little girl standing over him. He jumped, making her jump too. Then she grinned.

            "Amelia?" he said groggily. "What's wrong?"

            "It's night and I'm bored. And hungry. And I need to go to the bathroom. And I-,"

            "Ok…ok…hold on." He stood up and stretched his arms. He yawned a little as he walked over to open the crypt door. It was, indeed, night. Maybe around seven or so. "Ok…" he said leaning down to her eye level. "here's the deal. We'll go to McDonald's or something. Sound good?"

            "Do you guys have a Doublemeat Palace?"

            "Uh…yeah, yeah we do. Is that where you wanna go?"

            "Yeah!" she squealed. She started dancing while Spike sat down to put on his boots. "Hey Spike?" she asked suddenly. He looked up.

            "Yeah?"

            "Can-can I be the princess? I want to be the Princess of…of…" She wrinkled her forehead. "What is this?"

            "A crypt." He said with amusement dancing in his eyes.

            "I want to be the Princess of the crypt."

            "Ok." He laughed. He glanced at her bare feet. "But ya know what princesses need? Shoes. We'll have to get you some, I guess." He pulled his jacket on and picked Amelia up.

            She started squirming. "I can walk, you know."

            "Not without shoes, you can't." he said as he balanced her on his hip. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

            They walked through the cemetery and headed towards Main Street. 

            "Why do you live with dead people?" she asked after a while. "Don't they scare you?"

            "Because I have to. And no, they don't scare me. They're very quiet."

"But what about your friends?"

"I don't have any friends." He said.

"I can be your friend, Spike." She said. They walked in silence the rest of the way. 

            When they finally did reach the restaurant, he glanced inside. He was relieved to see no sign of Buffy. He pushed open the doors and they were instantly bathed in florescent lighting. He set Amelia down and pointed to the bathrooms.

            "Do you see it? The one with the stick guy in a dress?" She nodded and walked over there. He watched her to make sure she went in and no one snatched her up before he strolled up to the counter.

            "Can I help you, sir?" the young girl behind the counter asked with fake enthusiasm.

            "Hey, uh…" He studied her face a bit closer. "Sophie, right?"

            "Uh huh…oh, hi! You're Buffy's boyfriend, right? Your eye healed up I can see."

            "Yup." They nodded and silence followed. "Well, I guess I'll have one kid's meal."

            "'k. Is that all for you tonight?"

            "Yeah, I think so."

            "Ok, that'll be two dollars." He took out his wallet and handed her some cash. "It'll be out in a sec." She said and flashed a smile. He stood to the side of the counter and looked around. When he was there the few other times, the times when he was visiting Buffy, he never really took in the…well, cheesiness of the place. I mean, the hats. Seriously. Then his thoughts began to roam towards the things they had done on her breaks…

            "Uh…number 7, your order is ready!" The voice dragged him out of his thoughts. He picked up the meal, nodded at the kid behind the counter, and looked around again.

            "Spike? Is that for me?" Spike jumped about a mile when he realized Amelia had been standing behind him almost the whole time. He handed her the bag and soda and picked her up again.

            Buffy came in from a back room and she caught a glimpse of a long black coat and a head of bright yellow hair. She stopped dead in her tracks, but shook her head. **That couldn't of been him, **she thought, **he can't have children.**

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            "Ok, here are the shoes. Pick some out." Spike let go of her hand and she ran and disappeared down and aisle. He decided he'd be safe with sitting on a bench and waiting for her. He was just about to get up and look around when she came back with not one, not two, but three pairs of shoes. One was one of those lame _Barbie_ pairs covered in pink and glitter. Another were light blue and had Periwinkle on them (you'd be safer not knowing how he knew this), and the last pair were purple with Snow White on them.

"Ok…wanna try them on?"

"I already did."

"All right…so pick one."

"Just one?" She did her best pouty face. 

"Ok…how about we get you one of these…and…these." He said, picking some black ones with skulls on them off the shelf. Imagine that, finding shoes like that in _Sunnydale_…

"Ok…then can I get a toy?"

He sighed. "I guess. But just one. Got it?" She nodded and squealed. She ran off to the toy aisle probably faster than he could. He put the shoes back in the boxes and realized she hadn't picked out some. He figured he'd go with the Snow White ones. He always did have a weakness for Disney princesses.

He finally caught up with her and she had decided on a tiara. They went up front to pay. 

"I'm bored." She sighed after a while. **Does this kid ever stop? **He wondered.

"Here's a quarter." He flicked one at her and she ran off. He paid for the items and found her playing one of those claw-to-get-stuffed-bear games. Of course, as always, she failed and stomped towards him.

"Now…which shoes shall we wear?" he asked, taking the boxes out of their bags.

"Um…the black ones." He strapped them on her feet and took her hand. They walked about halfway home before Amelia's feet started to drag.

"Getting tired, luv?" 

"No." she yawned. He smiled and picked her up. What with the bags and all, I might add, it was quite difficult. He managed though, and when they crossed the threshold of his place of residence, she was out cold. He laid her down on his bed, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead.

"See you in the morning, Princess." He whispered.


	3. Chapter Three

            "I'm the Princess of the Crypt. Spike's the Prince. You can be the…Queen?" Silence. "Ok." Silence. "Your hair is pretty too." More silence. "No, you have ta have a pretend crown. Or Spike could get you one." 

            Spike stood up and stretched before walking over to see whom exactly she was talking to.

            "Good morning! Do you want to play with us?" she asked, gesturing to the Barbie in front of her. The doll was dressed in stylish clothes and boots, and her hair was blond and cut short so it would flip. There was a piece of sharpen wood in her hand. Spike slightly cringed at seeing part of his 'collection' actually out. "It-it is ok if I play with her, right?"

            Spike shook his head. "Yeah…yeah, it's fine." He noticed what she was dressed in-a sheet was around her shoulders and her tiara was on her head. 

            "I'm hungry again. Can I have some food?"

            "What time is it?" he asked, looking around for his watch.

            "Three o'clock. I've been up since nine, though."

            "How do you know that?"

            "I found a watch under my pillow. See?" A black watch was hanging loosely on her tiny arm. It was Buffy's…**God, why did I forget to throw that out? Why do I have to be constantly reminded of her? I'll see her tonight anyways, **he thought. He shook his head and walked over to his refrigerator and pulled it open. Inside were his many jars of blood, a half empty box of Trix, and a milk carton. He pulled out the box and milk. 

            "This alright with you? We can't go out 'till it's dark, so we have to stay here."

            "It's fine. I like Trix." 

            He hunted around for a bowl and spoon and finally found them. He poured out the items and handed them to her. 

            "Do you like tomato juice?" she asked.

            "What do you mean, pet?"

            "Well…you had a lot of it. In there?" She pointed to the fridge.

            "Oh…I see." He laughed. "Uh...yeah. It's all that I can eat."

            "Ok." She said. 

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            When she finished up, he put her bowl and spoon in the fridge and flipped on the telly. 

            "Time for-,"

            "Dragon Tales!" she squealed. He had somehow left the TV on that station.

            "You wanna watch it?" 

            "Yeah!" She started to sing along with the theme song. For half an hour, the mausoleum was silent except for the annoying voices of the two kids on the show. **How long is this show? I thought it only said thirty minutes…** he thought desperately. Finally the end credits started rolling and Spike silently thanked the Powers. 

            "So what d'you wanna do now?" he seriously hoped it had something to do with sleeping, or at least laying down for a while.

            "D'you think we could…" she cut off and looked at him pleadingly.

            "What?"

            "Could we play dress up?"

            "You want to play dress up with a _boy_?" he teased.

            "Yeah…cause you're my friend!" she said. Spike's heart skipped an imaginary beat then. 

            "Sure, Princess, anything you want." He led her down to the lower level of his place where he was sure he had at least two of Dru's old dresses. 

_Author's note: In the next chapter he will actually talk to Buffy, I swear. But I never finished this story. So if you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me about them. Thanks! Oh, and if you were wondering, _Puella_ means 'lass' in Latin._


	4. Chapter Four

            After many hours of playtime the sun set and it was night yet again. And also, during those hours, Spike had decided that he would talk with Buffy and see what she got out of the situation. He would also ask if he and Amelia could possibly stay at her house. After all, it would be best for the little girl. And of course, he would not let her out of his sight.

            "Ok chicklet…how's about we take a walk to my friend's house?"

            "I thought you didn't have any friends?" she said. 

            "She's one of my…very special friends and she may not like me, but she may be able to help you. We have to get you home soon and I don't want to ask you anything unless she's there. Ok?"

            "Well…I guess. I-if she's nice."

            "She'll like you. I promise." She seemed satisfied with this and nodded. "Ok…let's get you back into your clothes." He helped her back into them and fixed her ponytail a bit. She decided she wanted to wear her purple shoes. And they were off once again into the starry night.

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            "But seriously…you haven't seen him recently? I won't be mad or anything, I just-,"

            "Buffy! Listen to me here. I. Haven't. Seen. Him. Maybe Sophie was just…seeing things."

            "Maybe…I don't know. I just…" Buffy cut off and stopped pacing in her living room and sat on the couch next to Dawn.

            "Buffy, no matter how much we deny it, he's probably dust by now. Which might be a good thing, actually. I mean, after what he did to you…"

            "I know I shouldn't really care and all, but I don't really hate him, you know? Yeah, sure, I'm still pretty p-oed, but I just want to see him…happy, I guess." Buffy forced a small smile and Dawn nodded and gazed at the floor. After a moment, the doorbell's sound echoed through the house. Dawn began to stand and before Buffy stopped her. "Nah…I'll get it. It's probably Xander or something." She stood up and walked to the door. She opened it. "He-," she cut off her greeting when she saw who it was. She took a few steps backwards and her eyes grew big.

            "Buffy, are you ok?" Dawn asked worriedly from her dormant position on the couch.

            "Spike?" she breathed. Spike shifted nervously in his boots and gazed at the ground. 

            "Uh…hey, Buffy. D'you think we could…come in for a while?" Buffy nodded after a second and stood aside. Spike took a step towards the threshold but jerked to a halt.

            "Oh, uh…come in." He nodded in appreciation and he and the little girl he was holding onto stepped inside. The little girl simply said nothing and followed Spike into the living room.

Dawn stood up when they entered and got a confused look on her face when she noticed who was attached to his hand.

            "Who…is that?" Dawn asked in a stuck up voice. Buffy came and stood next to her with her arms crossed.

            "Th-this is Amelia. I…uh, she'd been staying with me since…two nights ago. Amelia, this is Buffy and Dawn." 

            She looked up at him and whispered, "Is she your special friend?" He nodded in response.

            "Dawn, um, do you think you could take Amelia here and let us talk for a while?"

            "But-,"

            "Please." She said it more of an order than a request.

            She looked at Buffy, then Amelia. "'k." She sighed and took the little one into the kitchen where she intended to listen to the whole conversation. Buffy waited until she was sure the door was closed before speaking.

            "So, Spike."

            "Buffy." Awkward silence followed. "What I came here for," he rushed, "was to ask you for something. I wondered if you could possibly-,"

            "When did you get back?" she asked quietly.

            "Huh? Buffy, can we not do this yet? I can't…I just need a warm place for her to stay a while. Can you-,"

            "When. Did. You. Get. Back?" she asked again.

            He sighed. "A couple of months ago."

            "Where did you go?"

            "Buffy, please!" His voice raised just a bit.

            "Why don't you want to talk about it? What happened to you? Where did you get a kid?"

            "It's none of your bloody business!" he shouted. "If you won't help us, then-,"

            "What? You'll just run away again? Where did you get her?"

            "Why should I tell you?" His voice faltered. "You never even cared about me. Not even when we…Why won't you even help me? Just this once?" He realized tears were streaming down his face and he wished he had killed himself on one of those drunken nights he was so fond of. Crying showed her how weak he really was.

            "I never said…" She sighed. "I don't hate you. I don't love you, either. Last year, I was actually beginning to like you, but then you…" she looked away from his face and trailed off.

            "Tried to rape you?" Spike forced through his trembling lips. He just couldn't control the waterfall coming from his eyes. He angrily wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Why did I even think of coming here." He said under his breath. "You're still scared of me, eh?" She wouldn't meet his eyes. "Look at me." 

            She looked up. "I was never scared of you." **The pride thing…I see. **He thought. 

            "Well, I'll just fetch Amelia and we'll…find something." He turned to go to the kitchen.

            "She can stay here." She said quietly.

            "What's that?" He turned back to face her.

            "I said she can stay here. Until we figure out how to get her home, that is. She can't stay in…wherever you're staying now, because if I'm guessing right, it doesn't have any running water or food or anything." There was silence. Spike nodded and he had calmed down a bit.

            "'preciate it." More silence.

            "So…what do we know about her? Where did you find her?"

            He walked over to the couch and sat down. "I don't really know anything. I figure I would consult Red before anything." Buffy slightly flinched. "Where is she, by the way?"

            "She…we'll talk about it tomorrow, k?"

            "Ok, I guess." He said, a little confused. He sort of felt like he really didn't want to know. "I found her on my way home from…on my way home. In the cemetery, leaning against a marker crying. I couldn't just leave her there, all defenseless. So I took her home. Oh, and I bought her some shoes cause she didn't have any on." Buffy nodded and looked at the clock. It was a little after nine o'clock. 

            "Ok then…I'll find her some sheets and you can come back tomorrow. It's probably past her bedtime." She began to walk towards a hall closet when Spike stood up. 

            "No…no, I'm not going anywhere. I can't just let her out of my sight. She's…she's…"

            "Not your problem. Don't worry, I'm the Slayer, remember?"

            "No. It's both of us or neither."

            Buffy sighed. "Fine. Sleep on the floor. I don't care." Buffy went off to search for sheets, and soon enough after the couch was made, Amelia was asleep. The hours became later and later, and eventually everyone fell asleep. Everyone, that is, but Spike. Being nocturnal, and all, it was kind of hard to fall asleep during the normal sleeping hours. But his only purpose tonight was to make sure his little Princess was safe.

_Author's note: Ok, ok, I know that was horrible. But I had to change it from what I had written down…and I was trying hard to finish it fast so I could do some other stuff…you don't have to tell me. Sorry._


	5. Chapter Five

            Buffy was eating her cereal and was about to put up the dishes when Amelia bounded in.

            "Hey, do you have any food?" she asked. Spike followed her in.

            "She likes Trix, if, you know, you have any." He said.

            "Sure." Buffy fixed the cereal and sat in front of where the little girl was sitting. But instead of eating, she just kind sat there. "What is it?"

            "Do you have any tomato juice?"

            "What?"

            "For Spike. That's what he likes to eat."

            Spike chuckled. "I'm fine. I'll eat later, ok?"

            "Ok." She said. Buffy, meanwhile, pulled Spike to the side. 

            "We need to get her home. Her parents are probably worried sick.  Any clues about where she came from?"

            "She's from Texas, and her last name is Van Buren. And I think she's five."

            "Anything else?"

            "Nope. I figured I'd wait until you were present before asking her anything. Also, I thought maybe Red could research on her computer or something, because I-,"

            "I could do it." She blurted. He gave her a look. "Well, I mean, I know how to do that stuff too. I'm hip on all the technology stuff nowadays." He raised an eyebrow.

            "What's going on?"

            "Nothing. Everything's normal. Hey, how bout we-,"

            "If it's nothing, where is everyone?"

            "I'm telling you, it's-,"

            "I don't think it's nothing. I think-,"

            "Here's my bowl." Amelia interrupted. She thrust her dishes into Buffy's hands. She in turn put them in the sink behind her. The little girl left for the living room.

            "I've been back for a while, and I've seen you around town. But I haven't seen Willow or Tara or Har-," He was cut off by a sob from the other room. He ran in there and picked up his little princess. She sobbed into his shoulder.

            "_Spike_?" Xander stood there with a look of disgust on his face. "What are _you _doing here? I was really wishing you were dust by now." 

            "What did you do to her?" He growled.

            "That's another thing…who would trust you with a kid? After what you do to full grown adults-,"

            "_What did you do_?"

            "I told her that you killed people for fun. How you drink blood from little kids. How you rape-,"

            "Don't make me hurt you, Harris."

            "Oooo…that's a big threat coming from a low-life, drunken, loser who-,"

            "Shut up!" Amelia screeched. "Don't be mean to him! He's my friend! He never did anything mean to you!"

            "Oh, is that right? He wasn't trying to be mean when he-,"

            "Back off Xander." Buffy appeared behind Spike.

            "Buffy? What the hell are you thinking? Letting him in your house after-,"

            "I know what he's done, Xander."

            "And you let that little girl hang around with him? You know," He said as an afterthought, "I thought you were over this dead-boy lovers phase. I guess not."        

            "You have no right to say that." She said in a dangerous tone. He gave her an exasperated look.

            "Fine. Dawn!" He yelled up the stairs. "Dawn, let's go!" There was anger in his voice. Dawn came down the stairs and took in the scene. 

            "What's up?"

            "Let's go." He growled and grabbed her wrist. He whipped around when he was about out. "And you know, I may think twice about taking her back here. Who knows what could happen." He turned and stomped out and slammed the door behind them.

            "Let's not be friends with him, ok?" Amelia said in a tiny voice.

            "Done." He sighed. He watched the door for a few more seconds then set her down. "Buffy, I'm gonna get something to eat. You can start talking to her now." And waited for her to nod and then disappeared into the kitchen. Buffy led Amelia over to a chair and sat down across from her on the couch.

            "Ok." She said just to break the silence.

            "Are you his _girlfriend_?" she asked.

            "Whose?"

            "Spike's."

            "Why do you ask?" she said a bit uncomfortably.

            "Because he talks about you when he sleeps."

            "Does he?"

            "Uh huh. He says icky things like 'I love you' and 'you're beautiful'. But when he's sleeping."

            "Really?"

            "And sometimes he says 'I didn't mean to make you cry'." Buffy blushed. "Why did he make you cry?" She asked innocently. 

            "Well-," Luckily Spike walked in on that moment.

            "How's it going in here, girls?"

            "Good…good…" Buffy said quickly. "Sit down." She gestured a spot next to her. "Ok, Amelia, where are you're parents?"

            "Well… they…" Her eyes welled up with tears. "They're dead."  


	6. Chapter Six

            "They're dead?" Spike echoed.

            "Uh huh. That's why I came here."

            "Why did you come here?" he asked.

            "Because they told me if anything happened that I should find Grandma Hattie. Only when I found her house she wasn't home." She looked at her feet. "They always had secrets because sometimes I'd walk in and they would stop talking and tell me to go away." Spike and Buffy looked at each other.

            "Do you remember what happened?" She asked gently.

            "Well, mommy told me to run and so I did and I hid behind a tree. And then I saw these men with scary masks…" She paused as tears ran down her face. "I don't wanna talk about this anymore." Spike walked over and hugged her. 

            "It's all right, pet. We'll find your grandma."

            "What were your mommy and daddy's names?"

            "Marcus and Olivia."

            "I think that's enough for now, ok?" he said.

            "Ok…I'll go look it up." She stood up and paused a moment to look at the two, hugging, and she smiled. She turned and headed to where Willow had left her laptop- the dining room. She flipped up the top, connected to the internet, and began her search.

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            "So, what do we got?" He asked while intently gazing over her shoulder.

            "Well, I've pulled up three missing Van Burens in Texas. Olivia, Marcus, and-,"

            "Amelia."

            "Right. And they lived on St. Clair Avenue. Says here they disappeared a few days ago, and they suspect foul play because there was blood everywhere. They still haven't found the parents." She said looking up.

            "What about their jobs?"

            "It doesn't say here. I don't know if I can find it…"

            "Can you try?"

            She sighed. "Ok. It might take a while."

            "I can wait." He said. About fifteen minutes passed with him just pacing behind her when he decided to break the silence. "Where did you learn how to use a computer?"

            "Well," she said distractedly, "When Willow was gone over the summer, we still had to research. Dawn helped me with the basics, and I kind of just picked up on the rest."

            "Why was she-,"          

            "Ah ha! Finally. Here we go. They worked for the council. Looks like they were the hunters…they sought out nests of demons and vamps and killed them all. You think maybe someone's mad? Maybe they killed their girlfriend or something?"

            "I don't know…but it's a likely possibility. I think we should visit her Grandma, too. See if she knows anything."

            "Good idea. We can check it out tonight. Do you know where it is?"

            "No, but she'll find it for us."

            "You think she's…dependable? I mean, she's only five. Maybe she forgot where it was."

            "We can check the neighbors, too. What time is it now?"

            She looked at the bottom corner of the monitor. "It's three o'clock now. It took me a while to pull this up…"

            "We'll leave as soon as the sun goes down. Sound good?"

            "Sure."

})i{(   })i({   })i({   })i({   })i({

            Night fell upon the town and all was quiet. The cicadas creaked and a slight breeze rustled some leaves along the road. The only sound was the three sets of footsteps heading down to the street on an important mission.

            "Do you remember what the street was called?" Spike asked gently.

            "I think it was Rosemary."

            "Ok." They found the street and began walking down it, past cozy little cottages. Amelia looked around for a little bit, and then stopped in front of a nice red and white colored house.

            "This one."

            "You sure?"

            "Uh huh." She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. No one answered. Buffy stepped up and turned the doorknob. It was unlocked. They stepped inside.

            "Grandma Hattie? Grandma Hattie? Where are you?" Spike and Buffy stood by the door while she looked around inside. She came back with a sad look on her face. "She's not here."

            "Let's go next door and see if she's there, ok?" He took her hand and they journeyed to the neighboring house. He knocked three times. A little old man came to the door. He grinned.

            "Hello. Can I help you?" His hand shook as it gripped the door.

            "We were wondering," said Spike, "if you have seen the lady who lives next door. Her name is Hattie."

            "Oh, I know her, sure! What's it you wanna ask me about her?"

            "Have you seen her recently?"

            "No, I haven't. I'm- yes! A-a few days ago! She came over, oh, she was crying. She said that her daughter and her husband were missing. Such a pity…so much violence nowadays, you know?"

            "Yes…yes…so a few days ago? Right after her daughter and son-in-law disappeared?"

            "Yes, I believe so."

            "Arthur? Who is that you're talking to?" a female voice in the house hollered.

            "Some friends of Hattie." That seemed to satisfy her. "I hope you'll see her. Good luck, young man."

            "Thank you, sir." He said. They turned and began to walk home.

            "She isn't hurt, is she Spike? She's gonna be ok, right?"

            "Of course, luv, I promise." His heart was heavy. Amelia gripped his hand more tightly after these words. Buffy stayed silent. She felt she had to do something, so she walked up next to the little girl and took her other hand. They walked in silence and were almost to the Summer's house when a girl stepped out from behind a tree.

            "Looking for someone?" She said. Her pixie hair was ruffled a little by a sudden breeze.

            "Why do you ask?" Buffy challenged, stepping up to her.

            "Because I think I know who you're after. And I also know you won't find her there."

            "Who are you?"

            "Who wants to know?"

            "Spike, take Amelia inside. I'll handle this." He nodded and they left. "Ok, how bout this: Who sent you?"

            "I'm January. And you don't need to know the rest yet. See that little girl? She's mine. You'll see…I'll snatch her when you least expect it."

            "Why her?"

            "Why not? We did away with the rest of them. Well, not the grandma…yet." She chuckled. "Ryan had his way with her parents, now I want her." Buffy threw a punch at her which January ducked. She chuckled again, and disappeared just as quickly as she had appeared. Buffy stood there for a moment, stunned, and then shrugged. 

_Author's Note: Ok, so I'm not good at strong villains. Or strong anything at this point. But I'm going to make this an action story! Don't bail on me now!_


	7. Chapter Seven

            "Hey, Spike? I was-," Buffy shouted into her house.

            "Shhhhhh…" Spike whispered harshly as he emerged from the living room. "I don't want her to think anything's wrong."

            She craned her neck around. "What's she doing?"

            "Dawn came down with and old Care Bear's game." He glanced momentarily at them, then back at Buffy. "So," he said, still being quiet, "What's the deal?"

            "I don't know. She says she's after Amelia and her boyfriend killed her family. She knows where Hattie is, too."

            "Gotta a name on her?"

            "January. Ever heard of her?"

            "Nope." He said after a considerable moment of thought. "What about her boyfriend?"

            "Ryan maybe?"

            "Is there anyway we could look them up?"

            "I may be able to get on the computer or something…we don't exactly have any Watcher's Diaries to look through either." She let out a nervous laugh.

            "Buffy, can we talk?"

            "Research now, talk later. I'm sure-,"

            "No. Now." She could tell by his tone she'd better give in. 

            "What do you want to know?" she sighed.

            "Well, I wanna know where Red and her girl are. And I wanna know what happened, because I could sense something…wiser about Xander. Like he's been through a trial. I-,"

            "How could you sense something like that?"

            "I just can. And where Anya is. And why you never meet at the Magic Box anymore."

            "Ok." She thought for a moment. "Let's make a deal. I'll tell you all that, if you tell me where you went this summer. And what you were doing there. And what's different about you. You're not the same; I can tell you're not really that much of a vampire anymore."

            "Fine. You first."

            "Let's sit down. I'll make some hot cocoa." They moved to the table in the kitchen and began their much needed talk.

})i({    })i({    })i({    })i({    })i({

            "What do you think they're talking about?" said Amelia moving her yellow bear two spaces ahead.

            "I don't know. You, probably." Dawn answered, rolling her die and picking a card.

            "There was some weird lady before we came home. Spike said not to look at her, so I didn't."

            "Why didn't he want you to look at her?" She said, finally moving her red bear three spaces.

            "I don't know. I think she knows about my mommy and daddy though."

            Dawn was silent. She didn't really know what to say. "Your move."

            "Do you like Spike? He said you used to but now you don't."

            "I'm not sure. He did some mean things to Buffy."

            "Like what?"

            She struggled on how to put it. "He just…he uh, said some mean things. And he scared her."

            "But why? He's my friend."

            "Sometimes people do weird things. Your move again." She said, handing her a card.

})i({    })i({    })i({    })i({    })i({

            Buffy and Spike sat in silence, their mugs half full, each lost in their own thought. **He's got a soul. He got a soul. He got a soul for me. **Were along the lines of Buffy's thoughts. **Tara died. Willow went evil. The only two I could stand. And Xander saved the world…all while I was away. **Were Spike's. A branch from outside scratched against the window bringing Buffy out.

            "So. What's it like?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "Having a soul. Is it…hard? Like with Angel?"

            "Well, I stopped feeding from humans long ago. I was used to that. But, I'm not that…different. I mean, to be honest, I already was a better man…because of you. But the first few months after I got back, all I could do was think about what I'd done to you. To all those people…I couldn't sleep, I couldn't close my eyes without seeing death. And pain. That I had caused. All I did was drown my sorrows. It's not quite as bad now…it's still hard to…look at you, though."

            She nodded. She didn't really know what to say.

            "How's Willow doing?"

            "Good, from what I hear. I've talked to Giles a couple times since she went over with him." 

            "So what is Anya's new job again?"

            "She places demon orphans with parents in Asia. She's set up a school system and everything."      

"That's good…that's good. Glad to hear she's doing well."

"Uh huh." Silence. "You talked to Clem lately?"

"Oh, yeah, when I got back. He got engaged a couple of weeks ago. Some Moka demon named Sally. She's nice."

"That's good. Oh, man! What time is it?" She whipped around to look at the clock. It's glowing numbers read 7:13. She groaned. "I was supposed to be at work at 7! I gotta get ready…um, have Dawn fix something, ok?" She ran upstairs and got ready as quickly as she could. She threw on her clothes, fixed her hair in a ponytail, applied some lip gloss and flew down the stairs. 

"Bye Dawn!" She called out with a wave. She slammed the door behind her and outside a car could be heard starting up. Meanwhile, Spike still sat in his chair sipping on his cocoa. After a moment he tipped the mug back, finished it off and grabbed the two mugs from the table. He walked over and sat them in the sink. He paused again, going over what he had just heard. Then he made his way into the living room.

"Mind if I join you, ladies?" He asked grabbing up a blue bear.

})i({    })i({    })i({    })i({    })i({

After they had finished their game they put it up and decided to watch a movie. 

"Are you gonna watch it with us?" Amelia asked Dawn when she started to go upstairs. She started to say no, but the look on the little girl's face was too much.

"I guess I will. What is it?"

"Well," said Spike, holding two movies in his hand, "The movies that she could actually watch that I found are Harry Potter and the Princess Diaries."

"Harry Potter! Harry Potter!" She squealed. "I like the part when he-,"

"Shhhh! I haven't seen it yet!" Spike chuckled as he put the tape in.

"Ok. I won't tell you." She giggled. He sat in between the two girls and all seemed well again.


	8. Chapter Eight

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Care Bears or Harry Potter or Princess Diaries. Or anything they watch on TV or the cereals they eat or anything like that. Just thought I'd say that.      

NOTE: Bold means thoughts, Italics mean flashbacks.

When Buffy came home that night it was close to two in the morning. Dawn and her two houseguests were snoozing on the couch and the TV was on the blue screen. She guessed they'd probably fallen asleep while watching a movie. She walked over and took the movie out and put it in its case. She didn't blame them for falling asleep- it was Harry Potter. She hated that movie. She'd only bought it because Dawn begged her to. She went to a closet, pulled out a huge afghan her Aunt Miriam had made her when he was born, and draped it over the three sleeping figures. She then trudged up the stairs and got ready for bed. When she slid under the covers of her bed, she couldn't sleep. She kept thinking back to the things Spike had said earlier.

_"I thought it was what you wanted, so I left and got one."_

_"A soul, you mean." She said after it dawned on her. He didn't answer that._

_"You don't even know what I had to do. Now I'm not even sure it was worth it." He said, a smile on his lips but sadness in his eyes. He probably figured out by now it would take more to get her back, if anything. _

_"Where did you go?"_

_"Africa. There was a demon there who…helped me. There were trials…After that was over, I dragged myself home. I drank a lot so I wouldn't have to think about you. Cause after I got it…I guess after I got it, I realized what you had done with me."_

_She sat speechless. What would you say to something like that? _

_"I know it was a hard time for you," he continued, "Part of me understands that. But the other part doesn't. Why would you do that?" This time he acted as if he wanted an answer._

_"I'm not sure myself."_

})i({    })i({    })i({    })i({    })i({

After a night of little sleep, she dragged herself out of bed at nine. Dawn, of course, was already gone. She made her way downstairs and saw that Spike was still passed out on the couch while Amelia was just sitting up, looking out the window.

            "Hey." She called out groggily. The little girl jumped, then smiled. "Want something to eat?"

            "No." she replied. "But can I watch Clifford?"

            Buffy smiled. She was so cute! "Sure." She walked over to the TV. "What channel?"

            "I think it's 21."

            "Alright." She flicked it on. A big red dog appeared on the screen. Amelia squealed. "Guess this is it, huh?" She began to go upstairs then paused. "Hey, when he," she pointed to Spike, "Wakes up, tell him to knock on my door. We need to talk. K?"

            "Ok." Buffy nodded at the answer and went up the stairs. She took a shower, dried her hair, and went into her room to change. After she had managed to get her tight jeans on she sat on the edge of her bed. She really didn't want to talk again, but they had to figure out what to do with the current bad guy situation. She was brought out of her thoughts by a sharp knock on her door.

            "Buffy, you in there?" He called from the other side.

            "Uh, yeah, come on in." She plastered her face in a fake smile as he entered. She patted the spot next to her on the bed.

            "So, uh, what do we have to talk about?"

            "Well, I was thinking that January might be a good start."

            His face lightened visibly. "Right. Right, that would be a nice start." 

            "So, you think there's any bars or hangouts we could check out? Get some good info?" 

            "Well, maybe, I-," He stood up and started to pace. All the sudden his foot started smoking and he rushed to a corner. He didn't make a sound, didn't really panic. Buffy was kind of amazed at his lack of pain. She walked over and shut the curtains.

            "Sorry." She said shyly avoiding his eyes.

            "It's all right. Anyway, I think there might be a friend of a friend who could help us out. He's a good tracker."

            "Alright then. What should we do today?"

            "Well, I'm not sure we can do anything but sit tight till the sun goes down. You don't have to work today, do you?"

            She shook her head. "Not today. I'm on call tomorrow." 

            "You know, Luv, you really should think about another line of work." She looked up suddenly at his comment. "I mean," he said defensively, "You can't exactly go around flipping burgers for the rest of your life, can you? You can do better." He said the last a little quieter than the rest.

            This made Buffy feel horrible. She had used him and hurt him in so many ways, yet he went through even more pain to get his soul. And after she had rejected him when he came back, he was still in love with her.

            Spike noticed something odd- a tear seemed to come to his Slayer's eye. Was it something he said? "I-I didn't mean to-,"

            He was trying to apologize now! This made her feel even worse. She couldn't help it- the tears just began to fall. She was such a horrible person…how could he even forgive her?

            Spike was completely horrified. What was going on? She was crying! What in the world had he done this time? "Buffy, don't…I didn't mean whatever it was I…" He could tell he wasn't really helping a lot so he did the first thing that popped into his head- went over to her, wrapped his arms around her, kissed the top of her head, and whispered that everything was gonna be fine. 

})i({    })i({    })i({    })i({    })i({

After a few moments she seemed to calm down and looked up at him, tear trails running down her cheeks. 

            "I-I have to do…that thing." She said hurriedly, being careful not to make eye contact. "I think I'd better…uh, go." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek then pulled herself out of his arms, not willingly, though she would never admit this to anyone. She wiped her face a little and then grabbed her keys. She was out the door before he could even say 'Wait'. 

            Spike sat there, trying to process what had happened. She had kissed him on the cheek. She hadn't shied away from his arms, his protection. Was their cycle beginning again? Would it all end in another…loss of control? Or maybe this time it was…real?

_Author's Note: Man that was a bad ending. It moves way too fast…anyways, tell me what you think! Please, I need feedback! In the next chapter I'll try to incorporate January and Ryan. I'm gonna make it a B/S story if that's fine with everybody. _


End file.
